VI. Issues Surrounding U.S. Programs For Nongovernmental 

 Scientific and Technical Personnel Abroad 



At the beginning of this study it was hypothesized that in a world 

 free of national and political differences, scientists would travel freely 

 from one country to another to study, conduct research, attend 

 meetings, and exchange information. The information presented indi- 

 cates, however, that achievement of this ideal is precluded by political 

 and scientific factors which undermine formation of a transnational 

 scientific community. These include competition between nations, visa 

 restrictions, geographic and subject Umitations, information-exchange 

 related restrictions, language differences, scarcity of funds for foreign 

 travel and research, preferences of scientists themselves in choosing 

 where and how to use funds tenable abroad, and the realization of 

 candidate scientists that scientific rewards vary considerably from 

 country .to country. 



The U.S. Government has established a number of programs and 

 mechanisms to fund and encourage the exchange of nongovernmental 

 scientific and technical personnel. However, the establishment of 

 these programs has not created, nor were they intended to create, a 

 genuine nongovernmental "world scientific community," with scien- 

 tists freely exchanging information and visits with colleagues in all 

 countries and in all subject areas on an equal basis. 



The programs of three agencies were treated in the study: the 

 Fulbright-Hays program of the Department of State; the programs 

 of the National Science Foundation; and the Soviet and Eastern 

 European exchange activities administered by the National Academy 

 of Sciences. Some attention was given also to evolving exchange 

 activities with the People's Republic of China. An attempt was made 

 to describe their characteristics with respect to their origins, purpose^ 

 evolution, and effectiveness. 



The data presented were structured to answer questions at several 

 different levels of analysis essential to evaluating U.S. exchange 

 programs for nongovernmental scientific and technical personnel: 

 the role of the scientist; the administrative underpinning, both 

 scientific and diplomatic; the impacts of the program on science and 

 on particular scientific disciplines; and the relationship of the program 

 to the design and promotion of U.S. foreign policies, both scientific and 

 political. Several of the issues raised cannot be fully explored for 

 want of relevant data. However, one recurring theme emerges: U.S. 

 programs for nongovernmental scientific and technical exchange have 

 supported scientific and foreign policy objectives (such as informa- 

 tion exchange, support of economic growth and trade, cultural and 

 educational communication, and scientific cooperation) ; but the ad- 

 ministration of most of these programs seems to warrant improvement. 

 If they are to meet more effectively requirements of a world in- 

 creasingly dependent upon science and technology, and especially 

 if they are to help significantly in reconciling the often incompatible 

 requirements of science and diplomacy, better direction, coordination, 

 and review will be needed. 



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